On an Object-Oriented Data Model for a Knowledge Base

The integration of autonomous distributed conventional databases requires two essential tasks: First, to represent the different database schemata in a canonical data model; Second, to provide global views on the schemata represented in the canonical model. The canonical model must be able to represent meta-database information next to conventional database structures. In this paper we present a data model which is particularly well suited for this specification. It includes the modelling concepts of semantic data models and it is capable of managing data and meta-data in a uniform way. The last feature is typical for knowledge representation models. Furthermore the model strictly follows object-oriented principles by encapsulating data structures and their associated operations.